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Hi everybody! Good day first of all (though i got the flu 3 days ago :-))I've been choosing a digital piano for two weeks and came up with Roland hp-2e/ks & Korg c3200. They have the most beautiful sound very close to acoustic piano and the best weighted keys (in the $1500 budget). But here are my questions.1) One salesman tells me that Roland is the best in digital pianos and the second one gives me the same speech about Korg. I understand that :-) but where is the truth?2) We have here in Russia only KS-series (HP-2E/KS, HP-1E/ks). On the Roland website there's no information about these models. The salesman says that it's a new line. When I search in yahoo for "Roland 2e/ks" the result is always russian sites. :-) So, is this line really the new and no one except Russia has it? I doubt.3) The last one. I compared these two pianos in a shop where they stood near to each other. I don't hear the difference (though I'm not a proffessional musician and a pianist). Both sounds great and truly. I don't care about the features they have. I need only the piano. So, which is the best?4) I'm no beginner 15 yrs ago I studied in a music school on a piano only for a year (I abrupted the lessons because of lack of a piano at home), 6 yrs ago I was a guitar player with my own band. But I always admire piano and now I decided to learn it again (and it's for my little daughter as well).

So, thanks a lot in advance to everyone!!!

p.s. I've read all the posts about digital pianos on this forum but my questions are very important for me now and they weren't answered here.

I think you should not worry about which is the best because they sound pretty similar. (I could not find an english site with the Roland keyboard you talked about either)

Some of the other guys here might have more technical info, but from a practical point of view you could: - play them both and see which one feels better.- Have a look at the instruction manuals - which one is easier to understand?- find an experienced piano player to try them out and give you their opinion.- buy the one with the best warrenty.

Anton, I couldn't find these exact model numbers either, but Roland has just introduced the HP-2,3 and 7 pianos. Perhaps the extra letters designate a European model - 220 volts and maybe other minor things. I'm sure you're right that they haven't produced a "Russia only" model! You can read about the new models at www.rolandus.com and probably elsewhere.

Regarding Korg vs. Roland, they're both good pianos and you should go with the one that sounds and feels best to you. Roland certainly makes more digital pianos than Korg and is a bigger name in the market, but Korg makes good instruments and for a long time their "sampling grand" was the gold standard in stage pianos. (No longer, however.) If you don't feel comfortable deciding, find a piano teacher and take him/her with you. Touch is more important than sound (IMHO anyway) because you can add external sounds later if you want. (I have a Roland myself.)

By the way, congratulations on your perfect idiomatic English. The internet really shows how multiple-language-impaired we are in America!

Yeah, thanks a lot for the answers. My flu is eating me step by step. But it can't kill my eagerness for buying a piano. Today my wife and me went to a Yamaha shop. The biggest one. Damn, how beautiful the pianos sounded! How amazing were the keys' touchings. But I'm talking about acoustic pianos. Heh. In the $1500 budget among Yamaha pianos I have found YDP-121 and YDP-110. I didn't like'em both. After that shop we immediately went to the Roland shop and compared the sounds we had in our heads and ears with the Rolands' sounds. And finally we decided to buy Roland HP-2E/KS. In two weeks when I got the money from a client of mine we will have at our home this beautiful piece of sleeping music waiting just to be waked up!!! I can't wait...Ok, thanks a lot for your answers. All I got from these "shoppings" (actually "non-shoppings", "just-lookings" ) that this digital piano is only for the first year of a beginner. After then it should be an acoustic one if the matter of learning of a piano going on deep and serious.

p.s. JimM, why did you say "multiple-language-impaired"? I understood this triple adjective but what did you mean by that phrase? Anyway thanks for telling about my idiomatic english. I really love idioms. They paint a language in warm colors.

Sorry for the awkward construct, Anton. What I meant was that 80% of us Americans only speak English and the other 20% are immigrants! (Or something like that.) We envy those of you who are fluent in other languages. I studied German in high school (the only language offered besides Latin!) and college, but being 7,000 miles from where it's spoken I've long since lost it. Now I'm restricted to "Spanglish," the patois of Spanish and English that's a near second language in California.

Congratulations on your upcoming "adoption" of your Roland. You'll enjoy it. Let us know how you get on.jim

So, JimM, you think that all americans don't learn the other languages? I can't believe. It can't be the truth. 'Cause the human nature is always different. One can be eager to learn something new (piano, drawing, other language etc.), the other one can be hectic to always watch tv and play computer games. All people are very different and you struck me as by the lighting when you said that only the immigrants have knowledge of other languages.I learn English 'cause I always wanted to be in California. That's my dream from my childhood. I am even playing Green Card Lottery but still no result. Secondly, why I learn English, because I love this language (as well as Latin, which I try to learn a little). Thirdly, I'm a graphic designer and there's no good designer's community in Russia. All good books about design come from America, Great Britain etc. and of course they're written in English. Forthly, English is a world's most famous language and if one knows it one can be saved in a lotta countries.

Well, guys, I've bought the piano!!!!!!! Yahoooooooooooooooooooo!!! Not Korg, neighter Roland. But Casio. You know why? Because the difference is $600 but the most significant thing on the piano is the keys and their touch. Casio has the most "piano" keys and that's why I bought it. Sound? Yeah, a little bit digital. But it's only for the beginner and after a year or two we'll but an acoustic piano. But now I'm too happy because I can play "Fur Elise" (actually just began). Haha! I love piano and wanted to share my happiness with you guys!!!!!!!! :p